Singlespeed & Fixed Gear"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Hey guys, I'm starting to get back into riding fixed gear after being away from just bikes in general for 9 or so years.. I have a stock Kilo TT I picked up from BikesDirect and just need some opinions for just a stable bike. Would changing the lock ring and cog be a good idea to start?

Hey guys, I'm starting to get back into riding fixed gear after being away from just bikes in general for 9 or so years.. I have a stock Kilo TT I picked up from BikesDirect and just need some opinions for just a stable bike. Would changing the lock ring and cog be a good idea to start?

Yes, and +1 to what Scrod said, mine wasn't tightened enough out of the box and let's just say interesting things happened the first time I tried to skid.

I've just mounted it onto the post, tightened it down and it seems pretty secure right now. If anything I was thinking about buying a 25.4-26.0 handlebar shim and just using that in addition to the shim that allows -31.6mm post use, but that might be more detrimental than just not using a second shim at all.

EDIT: I decided to use some spare rubber shims that are used when mounting bike lights. I'll update later on and see what happens.

Couldn't resist putting the stock drops back on my bike and going for a short ride with my gf. Few questions.

1) I remember watching some video TT posted about bike fit, saying something about how to determine stem length, you should be able to see that your front hub and handle bar aligns.. From there you can determine if you need it shorter or longer. Well, when I was riding the tops of the stock kilo tt bars, it aligned perfectly, though I got into the drops and it was way far forward, and I felt a little cramped. Maybe I should get a longer stem? I felt somewhat comfortable on a 100mm with bullhorns. But a little stretched when riding the horns.

2) I believe my chain tension is pretty legit, it has the right amount of slack, but I noticed that my drivetrain is pretty noisy. I ONLY hear a loud clicking noise when I am having any sort of resistance to the cranks/back pedaling, but not when I am pedaling forward.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about: you know when you have slack on a chain, you can move your pedals back and forth a bit before the chain engages fully.. It only makes noise when I'm in the "back" position. Hence when I have any sort of resistance on the cranks while pedaling.

I believe my chain tension is pretty legit, it has the right amount of slack, but I noticed that my drivetrain is pretty noisy. I ONLY hear a loud clicking noise when I am having any sort of resistance to the cranks/back pedaling, but not when I am pedaling forward.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about: you know when you have slack on a chain, you can move your pedals back and forth a bit before the chain engages fully.. It only makes noise when I'm in the "back" position. Hence when I have any sort of resistance on the cranks while pedaling.

What do you guys think?

New drive train parts are often a little noisy. Let them break in a bit.

Alright, that makes me feel a lot better. I dropped the chain and had it wrap around my cog and snap my chain in half, and bed my cranks and just wanted to make sure that it didn't also twist my frame up. Thanks.